The present invention relates generally to the transfer of solid loads between marine vessels at seawater locations.
According to current standard methods, solid cargos such as munitions and palletized loads are transferred by tensioned wire rope between ships during seawater travel. Such wire rope extends as a cargo transfer highline from a load replenishment ship and is terminated at a load receiving ship for shuttling a load at a sufficient height above seawater surface. Upon arrival at the receiving ship, the load is lowered onto its deck to enable performance of a load disconnect task. A post structure is erected, out of a recessed pocket in the receiving ship deck, through a rotational motor driven arrangement. The post structure in its erected position has the wire rope attached thereto for highline load transfer operation. Stowing of such post structure, erection thereof and attachment of the highline wire rope thereto is laborious for personnel. It is therefore an important object of the present invention to provide for automated highline wire rope connection between underway seagoing ships, which reduces the laborious nature of the load transfer task heretofore involved as well as to require a less cumbersome structural arrangement for performance of such task.
In accordance with the present invention, an inhaul portion of a flexible rope wire is stored as an inhaul whip in an unintensioned condition within the load receiving ship, from which it is withdrawn through a tubular post after vertical displacement thereof from a retracted position to an upper erected position from a vertically elongated pocket in the ship deck. From such receiving ship, a small shot line portion of the rope wire is projected to the replenishing ship from an outboard end of the inhaul whip. After the replenishing ship receives the shot line in the erected position of the tubular post, the inhaul whip portion of the rope wire is extended to the replenishment ship and after reception by the replenishing ship, it connects to a highline. The receiving ship hauls the highline back fully into an automated latching device mounted in the tubular post top. Personnel on the receiving ship disconnect the inhaul whip and the replenishing ship hauls the inhaul whip back. The replenishing ship then tensions the highline. The inhaul whip is then connected to a pulley block which is hauled over by the receiving ship until automatic engagement occurs. The replenishing ship then commences to send the load. Upon arrival of the load at the receiving station, the tubular post is lowered to place the load onto the deck where automatic load release occurs. After load transfer is completed, the pulley block and then the highline are disconnected under automatic remote control from the receiving ship followed by the retractable tubular post being lowered into stowage position on the deck. The inhaul whip is maintained in a rigged manner through the retracted tubular post for storage in the receiving ship before future reuse.